Faith and freedom : contexts, choices, and crises in religious commitments

Description

1. Contextual freedom, religious beliefs, and stances of faith. Contextual freedom and religious beliefs Contextual freedom and stances of faith Two kinds of truth and two ways of expressing truth Responsible freedom and the life of faith Faith, freedom, and weakness of will Conclusion -- 2. Functions of religious ultimates. Role-functional analysis Uniqueness Primacy Pervasiveness Rightness Permanence Hiddenness Secular faith Conclusion -- 3. A range of choices. Monotheism Polytheism Contemplative monism Religious naturalism Approaches to religious diversity Conclusion -- 4. Ways of being religious. Way of knowledge Way of devotion Way of works Way of mystical experience Pluralism and the four ways of being religious Conclusion -- 5. Why religious faith is important. Positive side of personal religious faith Positive side of communal religious faith Negative side of personal religious faith Negative side of communal religious faith Positive side of religion for the earth and its nonhuman creatures Negative side of religion for the earth and its nonhuman creatures Conclusion -- 6. Points of departure. God Atonement and apotheosis Nature-human dualism Belief in an afterlife Scriptural authority Conclusion -- 7. Points of arrival. Importance of religion Wisdom of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament Seriousness of moral evil Goodness of nature Pivotal role of mystery Religion's intimate relation with the natural sciences A vast and ever-changing universe Evolutionary and ecological interdependencies on earth Radical incarnation Conclusion.